Bahir Dar University

Institute of Technology
Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Electronics and communication Department
Undergraduate program
TELECOMMUNICATION
NETWORKS
(Eeng. 5151)

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 Chapter Three
Introduction to Digital
Telecom Transmission and
Applications

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 Lecture outlines
• Analog Transmission
• Digital Transmission
• Analog vs. Digital Transmission
• Channel Bandwidth and Capacity
• Multiplexing and multiple access tech.
 T-carrier, E-carrier, and J-carrier
 Overview of Plesio- Synchronous Digital Hierarchy ( PDH)
 Synchronous Digital Hierarchy(SDH)
 Synchronous Optical Network (SONET)
 SDH/SONET Signal Hierarchy
 ATM
 Transmission Media

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 Analog Transmission
 Analog waveform continuously varies in amplitude & time
• Examples: Human voice and television pictures
• In analog circuit – also called a voice-grade line - we need to define
frequency band or bandwidth in which it operates
Example
• Human voice typically generate frequencies from 100Hz to 20,000Hz with
a bandwidth of 9,900Hz
• But the vast majority of sounds we make that constitute intelligible speech
fall between 250Hz and 3,400Hz
• Telephone companies typically allot a limited bandwidth of 4,000Hz for
voice transmission

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 Analog Transmission – Drawbacks
 Attenuation
 corrupted by noise

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 Digital Transmission - Advantage
 Analog systems in a telecommunications network are gradually
being replaced with digital systems
• Most important advantages of digital technology includes:
• High scale of integration possible:
• Lower cost, better reliability and lower power consumption
• High-capacity
Better noise tolerance
• Digital networks are ideal for growing data communication
• Digital technology makes new services available
• Digital networks offer flexibility
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 Digital Transmission - Disadvantage
• Increased bandwidth
• Need for time synchronization
• Topologically restricted multiplexing
• Incompatibility with analog facilities

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 Analog vs. Digital Transmission Summary

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 Analog vs. Digital Transmission Summary . . .

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 Analog vs. Digital Transmission Summary . . .

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 Channel Bandwidth and Capacity

• Maximum information rate, called the channel capacity, C in bps,

that can be reliably transmitted over a given communications
channel depends on :
1. Transmitted signal’s power
2. The noise characteristics of the channel
3. The channel bandwidth B in hertz

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 Channel Bandwidth and Capacity . . .
 Shannon’s capacity formula
C = B log2[1 + S/N]
• Where N is the total noise power within the channel BW
and S/N is the signal-to-noise power ratio
• Provides a tradeoff between channel BW and SNR
example
• If B= 4 kHz and SNR = 200, then C = 30.6 kbps
• If B is reduced to 3 kHz, then to maintain the same channel
capacity C = 30.6 kbps, we must increase S/N to 1176.3

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 Multiplexing and multiple access tech.
 Multiplexing: the process of combining a number of
communication channels and transmitting them over one
physical medium.
 De-multiplexing: to separate and recover the original
channels at the receiver.
 The main multiplexing techniques are:
• Frequency division multiplexing (FDM)
• Time division multiplexing (TDM)
• Code division multiplexing (CDM)

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 T-carrier, E-carrier, and J-carrier

 A range of services that are provisioned wideband

capabilities are T-carrier, E-carrier, and J-carrier
services
 T-carrier is followed throughout North America.
 E-carrier is followed throughout Europe, Asia, Latin
America, and Africa.
 J-carrier is followed throughout Japan

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 T-carrier

• Each analog voice signal is sampled at 8-kHz rate

• I.e., the time between samples is 125 µ second (magic number )
• Each sample is then companded , quantized, and represented by
8 bits (i.e., a time slot)
• Thus, one voice call/channel is represented by 64-kbps stream
• Digital Signal 0 (DS0): is a basic digital signaling rate of 64 kbps,
corresponding to the capacity of one voice channel

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 Example: T1 digital system . . .

 In the T1 system
• 24 time slots are multiplexed (byte interleaved) to form a frame
• Each time slot is an 8-bit encoded word and one more bit is added
for frame synchronization and alignment.
• If we combine these 64Kbps channels together, we can achieve
wideband transmission rate of 1.544 Mbps

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 T-1 Digital System

T-1 Carrier (1.544 Mbps)

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 T-1 Digital System . . .

 The resulting PCM stream forms a rate of 1.544 Mbps, as

follows:
• 24 voice time slots x 8 bits per slot = 192 bits
• 192 bits + 1 framing bit = 193 bits / frame
• 8000 frames/second x 193 bits/frame= 1.544 M bits/second
• This data rate of 1.544 M bits per second and the frame
structure is called T1 or DS1 (digital signaling 1).

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 High-Level Multiplexing

 A hierarchy of further multiplexing is built up in stages from the

basic T1 signal
• Based on bit interleaving
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 High-Level Multiplexing . . .
 T2 or DS2 is generated by multiplexing four T1 lines in
M12 multiplexer
• 17 bits for frame synchronization
(193x4 + 17)x8000 = 789 x 8000= 6.312 Mbps
 T3 or DS3 is formed from seven T2 lines in multiplexer M23
• 69 bits for frame synchronization and plus stuffing results in
5592 bits frame (789x7+69)
• T3 bit rate is 5592x8000 = 44.736 Mbps
• T4 or DS4: from six T3 lines and adds 720 bits for
synchronization and pulse stuffing
• Thus, T4 rate is 274.176 Mbps
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 T-carrier Summary
 The first subscriber level, Digital Signal Level 1 (DS-1), provides
1.544Mbps and a total of 24 channels.
 The DS-2 level is not a subscriber level, nor is it used very frequently
in the PSTN.
 DS-3 is a high-bandwidth alternative for subscribers, and it is used
for interexchange trunks. Both users and carriers get 44.736Mbps
with DS-3, which is a total of 672 channels that can carry combined
voice, data, fax, and image traffic.
 The DS-4 level is used only within the telco, again on interexchange
trunks. DS-4 offers roughly 274Mbps and 4,032 channels
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 T-carrier

The T- Carrier Digital Signal Hierarchy

Digital Signal Level Bit Rate DS-0 Channel Number of T-Line

DS-0(T-0) 64 Kbps 1 ---

DS-1(T-1) 1.544 Mbps 24 1
Ds-2(T-2) 6.312 Mbps 96 4
DS-3(T-3) 44.736 Mbps 672 24
DS-4(T-4) 274.176 Mbps 4032 168

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 E-carrier
64Kbps is the basic increment in E-carrier.
E-1 operates at 2.048Mbps and is delivered over 32
channels.
E-2, like T-2, is not used much.
E-3, the high-bandwidth alternative, offers 34 Mbps and
512 channels.
E-4 and E-5 are largely used within telcom networks,

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 E-carrier

The E- Carrier Digital Signal Hierarchy

Digital Signal Level Bit Rate E-0 Channel Number of E-Line

E-0 64 Kbps ---- ---

E-1 2.048 Mbps 32 1

E-2 8.488 Mbps 128 4

E-3 34.368 Mbps 512 16

E-4 139.246 Mbps 2048 64

E-5 565.148 Mbps 8192 256

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 Telecommunication Networks by solomon
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 T-carrier, E-carrier, and J-carrier standards summary

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 Overview of Plesio- Synchronous Digital Hierarchy ( PDH)
 PDH: Multiplexing signals which are free running at almost the same speed
• Three different systems (Europe, NA, Japan)
• E: 2.048, 8.448, 34.348, 139.264
• T: 1.544, 3.152, 6.312, 44.736, 91.053, 274.176
• J: 1.544, 3.152, 6.312, 32.064, 97.728, 397.2
 PDH was intended to utilize existing copper wire networks
• Is based on the needs of telephone networks
• Offering integral multiples of 64kbit/s channels
• Require multiple multiplexing stages to reach higher rates
• Difficult to manage, measure and monitor performance, and
relatively expensive to operate

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 PDH Example T-1

• Multiplexing is done hierarchically and by bite interleaving

• Each individual bit stream is called the “tributary”

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 SONET and SDH

1. Synchronous Optical Network (SONET)

• A multiplexing protocols designed for optical transport (high bit rate)
• Developed by ANSI: Widely used in US and Canada.
• Direct mapping of lower levels into higher ones
• Lower rates can also be transferred with higher rates
• SONET simultaneously transports different circuits modes (e.g., T1,
T3) of differing origin within one single framing protocol
• Synchronization required

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 SONET and SDH
2. Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH)
• ITU version of SONET and used in the rest of the world
• SONET and SDH: Different terminology but interoperable

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 SONET Architecture

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 SONET Architecture
 SONET has 3 layers
1. Section (physical layer): Fiber link between adjacent elements
• Deals with the transmission of an STS-n signal across the fiber link
• When exceed fiber reach – regenerators
• Regenerators use their own overhead
2. Line: Link between adjacent multiplexers
• Encompasses several sections
• Transports aggregate multiplexed streams of user information
• Protect multiplexed SONET payload
• Called Multiplex section
3. Path: End-to-end data connection between two SONET terminals
• Multiplexes signals path of client data (PDH, ATM, packet data)
• Called Path Section
• Each layer has its own overhead to support needed functionalities
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 SONET and SDH Electrical Signal Hierarchy

1. SONET frame: Called Synchronous Transport Signal (STS)

 STS-1
• The basic STS (electrical) rate used primarily for transport within a
specific piece of hardware
• Transmission rate of 51.84 Mbps
• Multiple STS-1 combined into STS-n signal
• The optical equivalent of STS-1 is known as OC-1 and is used for
transmission across the fiber
• The bit format of STS-1 and OC-1 is the same except that use of
scrambling in optical signal
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 SONET and SDH Electrical Signal Hierarchy . . .

2. SDH frame: Synchronous Transport Module (STM)

 STM-1: Basic SDH rate at 155.52Mbps (STM-1)
• Multiple STM-1 combined into STM-n signal
• Both SONET and SDH converge at 155.52 Mbps
• I.e., rate of STS-3 = STM-1
• Compatibility
• Interworking b/n SDH and SONET is possible at matched bit rates
• STM-M = STS-N with N = 3M (e.g., STM-4 and STS-12)
• A slight modification to the overhead is required
• SDH rates increase by factors of 4
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 SONET and SDH Electrical Signal Hierarchy . . .
SONET Optical SONET Electrical SDH Level Voice Channels Transmission-Rate
Level Level :Synchronous :Synchronous Transport Mb/s
Transport Signal (STS)
Module (STM).
OC-1 STS-1 — 672 51.840

OC-3 STS-3 STM-1 2016 155.520

OC-12 STS-12 STM-4 8064 622.080

OC-48 STS-48 STM-16 32,256 2488.320

OC-96 STS-96 STM-32 64,512 4976.64

OC-192 STS-192 STM-64 129,024 9953.280

OC-768 STS-768 STM-256 516,096 39,813.120

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• OC-1— OC-1 offers about 51Mbps and is generally used as
customer access lines. Early adopter types of customers—
such as universities, airports, financial institutions, large
government agencies, and ISPs—would use OC-1.

• OC-3— OC-3 provides about 155Mbps. End users such as

companies in the aerospace industry and high-tier ISPs
would need this extensive level.

• OC-12— OC-12 provides about 622Mbps. It is another

capacity toward which high-tier ISPs are moving. It was
originally deployed for the metropolitan area fiber rings
built out across cities worldwide, although those rings are
now moving to OC-48.
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• OC-48— OC-48 offers about 2.5Gbps. This
capacity has been deployed for backbone, or
core, networks. Today the metropolitan area
rings are moving from OC-12 to OC-48, and the
backbone links are moving from OC-48 to OC-
192.

• OC-192— OC-192 supports about 10Gbps and is

being used for backbone networks.

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 SONET and SDH Tributaries

 STS/STM signals can carry PDH tributaries, for example:

• STS-1 carry 1 T3 or 28 T1s or 1 E3 or 21 E1s
• STM-1 carry 3 E3s or 63 E1s or 3 T3s or 84 T1s
• Frames of lower rate can be synchronously time-division multiplexed
into a higher-rate frame.

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 ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode)

1. Designed to work with SONET backbone

• I.e., need for a transmission system that uses high-data-rate
transmission media, e.g., optical fiber
2. A system that interfaces with existing systems and provide
wide-area interconnectivity
• A system that work with and support existing telecommunications
hierarchies (local loops, local providers, long-distance carriers)

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 ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) . . .
3. Inexpensively implementable so that cost would not be a
barrier to adoption
• If ATM is to become the backbone of international communications
4. A connection-oriented system to ensure accurate and predictable
delivery
5. For speed reason, move many functions to hardware instead of
software functions

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 User Applications User Applications
Voice Video Data
Voice Video Data

BISDN BISDN
Services Services

Reassembly
Segmentation

Multiplexing Demultiplexing

Workstation Workstation
H

ATM Network H

H H H H H H
H H H

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 Transmission Media
1. Guided media: Constrain & guide the communication signals, e.g.,
• Copper wire-based: Open-wire lines, twisted pair, coaxial cable
• Fiber optics
• Unguided media: Permits signals to be transmitted but do not guide them
2. Wireless transmission: Radio transmission, microwave, satellite
 Important characteristics of a media
• Bandwidth: wired media has low BW
• Deployment: wireless is faster, less costly, and better when no infrastructure exists
• Susceptibility to noise and the subsequent error rate
• Distance required between repeaters/amplifiers
• Security

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 Transmission Media Open-wire lines
• Open wire consists of bare (un-insulated) pairs of wires supported
on poles
• The original telephone and telegraph transmission media for both
local and long-haul transmission
• Have low attenuation at voice frequencies; however, they are
sensitive to external interference from storms and high voltage
power lines

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 Transmission Media Twisted Pair

• A pair of insulated wires that are twisted together in a continuous spiral at

varying rates
• Twisting minimizes external interference and crosstalk
• Any noise that appears on 1 wire of the pair would occur on the other wire
• When the noise appears on both wires, it cancels or nulls itself out at the
receiving end
• Twisted Pair cables are most effectively used in systems that use a balanced line
method of transmission: polar line coding (Manchester Encoding) as opposed to
unipolar line coding (TTL logic)

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 Categories of Twisted-pair
• There are two types of twisted-pair: UTP and STP
1. STP- a metallic shield around the wire pairs minimizes the impact of the outside
interference
• Most implementations today use UTP
• The following are cable types specified in cabling standards:
• Category 1 (Cat 1) cable is for voice telephony only; it does not support data
• Category 2 (Cat 2) cable can accommodate up to 4Mbps
• Category 3 (Cat 3) cable supports up to 10Mbps
• Category 4 (Cat 4) cable can carry up to 16Mbps
• Category 5 (Cat 5) cable can handle up to 100Mbps
• Category 5E (Cat 5E) (enhanced) operates over 100Mbps

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 Categories of Twisted-pair . . .

• Advanced cable types include

• Category 6 (Cat 6): Is expected to support 1Gbps, but only over
short distances.
• There are currently no applications for Cat 6
• Category 7 (Cat 7) cable will operate over 600MHz over a range of
100 meters and will use STP or screened twisted-pair (ScTP)
• The predominant cable categories in use today are Cat 3
and Cat 5E; Cat 6 and Cat 7 are not yet standardized.

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 Advantages Twisted-pair . . .
1. High availability: More than one billion telephone subscriber lines
based on twisted-pair have been deployed, and if it's there, we're
going to use it. An estimate of over US$250 billion is associated
with the twisted-pair deployed worldwide
2. Low cost of installation on premises: The actual cost of installing
twisted pair on premises is very low
3. Low cost for local moves, adds, and changes in places: An
individual can simply pull out the twisted-pair terminating on a
modular plug and replace it in another jack in the enterprise,
without requiring the intervention of a technician
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 Disadvantages Twisted-pair . . .
1. Limited frequency spectrum: The total usable frequency spectrum
of twisted-pair copper cable is about 1MHz
2. Limited data rates: The longer a signal has to travel over twisted-
pair, the lower the data rate.
• At 100 meters, twisted-pair can carry 100Mbps, but at 5.5
kilometers, the data rate drops to 2Mbps or less
3. Short distances required between repeaters: More components
need to be maintained and where trouble can arise, and this leads
to higher long-term operational costs
4. High error rate: Twisted-pair is highly susceptibility to signal
interference
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 Coaxial Cable
• Coax consists of 2 conductors
• The inner conductor is held inside an insulator with the other
conductor woven around it providing a shield
• An insulating protective coating called a jacket covers the
outer conductor
• The outer shield protects the inner conductor from outside
electrical signals

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 Coaxial Cable Advantages

1. Broadband system: Sufficient BW to support multiple channels,

which allows for much greater throughput
2. Greater bandwidth per channel: We can support a mixed range of
services, namely, voice, data, video, and multimedia
3. Lower error rates: Because of its insulation, coax has lower error
rates and therefore slightly better performance than twisted-pair
4. Greater spacing between amplifiers: The shielding in coax
reduces noise and crosstalk, which means amplifiers can be
spaced farther apart than with twisted-pair

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 Coaxial Cable Disadvantages
1. High installation costs: Installation costs in the local environment
are high
2. High costs for local moves, adds, and changes: One can't easily do
away with the termination of a coax cable. We basically have to pull
in a whole new cable to a new locale; it's not a simple modular plug
environment
3. Susceptible to damage from lightening strikes: In areas with a lot
of lightening strikes, one must be wary because if that lightening is
conducted by the coax, it could very well fry the equipment at the
end of it
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 Optical Fibers
What are optical fibers
• Thin strands of pure glass
• Carry data over long distances
• At very high speeds
• Fiber can be bent or twisted

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 Optical Fibers . . .
• Consists of thin glass fibers that can carry information at frequencies in the visible
light spectrum and beyond
• The typical optical fiber consists of a very narrow strand of glass called the core
• Around the core is a concentric layer of glass called the cladding
• Coating the cladding is a protective coating consisting of plastic, it is called the Jacket

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 Fiber optic technology
• Sources
• Transmission medium
• Detectors

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 Sources of light
• Light emitting diodes
• Lasers

• Modulate electrical signals into optical signals

• Mostly modulate at 850nm, 1300nm and 1550 nm
• Lasers give high intensity, high frequency light
• LEDs are economical
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 Types of optical fibers
• Single mode
– only one signal can be transmitted
– use of single frequency
• Multi mode
– Several signals can be transmitted
– Several frequencies used to modulate the signal
Losses in optical fibers
• Attenuation loss
• Dispersion loss
• Waveguide loss
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 Advantages of optical fibers
• Can carry much more information
• Much higher data rates
• Much longer distances than co-axial cables
• Immune to electromagnetic noise
• Light in weight
• Unaffected by atmospheric agents
• Non-flammable

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 Disadvantage of fiber optic over copper
wire cable
• Optical fiber is more expensive per meter than
copper
• Optical fiber can not be join together as easily
as copper cable. It requires training and
expensive splicing and measurement
equipment.

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 Global Undersea Fiber systems

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 Wireless Transmission
1. Radio Transmission

(a) In the VLF, LF, and MF bands, radio waves follow the curvature of
the earth
(b) In the HF band, they bounce off the ionosphere

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 Wireless Transmission . . .
2. Microwave
• Microwave was deployed in the PSTN as a replacement for coaxial
cable in the late 1940s
• Better frequency spectrum and deployable than twisted-pair & coax
• Microwave range: 1GHz to 100GHz frequency band
• Current microwave systems largely operate up to the 50GHz range.
• Microwave is generally allocated in chunks of 30MHz to 45MHz
channels
• Substantial amount of BW is available to end users and telecom
operators
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 2. Microwave . . .

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 Microwave : Advantage

• The advantages of microwave are:

1. Cost savings: Microwave is less expensive than using leased lines
2. Portability and reconfiguration flexibility: We can pick up
microwave and carry it to a new building, which is impossible
with cables.
3. Substantial bandwidth: High-speed data, video, and multimedia
can be supported.

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 Microwave : Disadvantage

 The main disadvantages of microwave are:

1. Line-of-sight requirement: No obstacles between towers
2. Susceptibility to environmentally caused distortions:
For example, heavy rainstorms can cause distortion
3. Regulatory licensing requirement: One must have time and
flexibility to deal with the spectrum agency
4 . Potential environmental restrictions: Some communities do not
allow microwave towers or require that they be camouflaged.

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 Wireless Transmission . . .

3. Satellite
• NASA launched the first experimental satellite in 1963.
• The first commercial satellite was launched in 1965.
• So 1965 marked the beginning of the use of satellite communications
to support public telephony as well as television, particularly
international television.
• Currently, more than 250 communications-based satellites are in
space.

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 3. Satellite . . .

• Also hundreds of other specialized satellites that are used for

meteorological purposes, defense, remote sensing, geological
exploration, and so on
 Communication Satellites: Classification based on height
• Geostationary Satellites (GEO)
• Medium-Earth Orbit Satellites (MEO)
• Low-Earth Orbit Satellites (LEO)

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 GEO Orbit
• Advantages of the the GEO orbit
– No problem with frequency changes
– Tracking of the satellite is simplified
– High coverage area
• Disadvantages of the GEO orbit
– Weak signal after traveling over 35,000 km
– Polar regions are poorly served
– Signal sending delay is substantial

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 MEO Satellite Characteristics
• Circular orbit at an altitude in the range of 5000 to 12,000 km
• Orbit period of 6 hours
• Diameter of coverage is 10,000 to 15,000 km
• Round trip signal propagation delay less than 50 ms
• Maximum satellite visible time is a few hours
LEO Satellite Characteristics
• Circular/slightly elliptical orbit under 2000 km
• Orbit period ranges from 1.5 to 2 hours
• Diameter of coverage is about 8000 km
• Round-trip signal propagation delay less than 20 ms
• Maximum satellite visible time up to 20 min
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 Satellite Orbits
• Communication satellites and some of their properties, including
altitude above the earth, round-trip delay time and number of
satellites needed for global coverage

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 Satellite Bands

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 Transmission Media – Comparison

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 End of Slide

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